In its report card, “How Canada Performs”, the Conference Board of Canada gave Canada a “D” for innovation. It found Canada ranked 14th out of the 17 countries surveyed and lack of innovation was harming the economy.

What makes the report card surprising is that the Canadian government spends more on research and development, as a percent of GDP, than any of the other countries surveyed. The problem is how the money is spent.

This video from Operation Maple looks at how interns are being used as unpaid labour. There are 300,000 unpaid interns in Canada today and many are finding that they are being used to replace paid employees.

As with too many debates on economic issues in Canada, in the debate on supply management the facts are being pushed aside by ideological assumptions.

The best example is the amount Canadians pay for milk compared to other countries. Canadians actually pay less for milk than consumers in Australia and New Zealand - like Canada, these countries don't subsidize dairy farmers - but you would never know that from reading most opinion pieces opposing supply management.

For several decades large corporations and the lobby groups they fund have been pushing to reduce government regulation. But as concerns about the Boeing 787 show, when legislation and regulations to protect the public are weakened, businesses can suffer too.

Media reports are linking safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to a weakening of government regulation.

The release of Statistics Canada's monthly Survey of Manufacturing for October, 2012 showed a 1.4% drop in sales. The worst decline was in aerospace and motor vehicle assembly – two industries that provide good, well paying jobs.

The November 29th decision to give the Hostess executives who oversaw the company's collapse a $1.8 million bonus illustrates why a company that had sales of $2.5 billion (US) last year is now being shut down.

Some filmmakers are worried that Telefilm Canada's decision to only provide support to companies that have had at least one commercially successful film in the last five years will make it impossible for newcomers to enter the industry.

About Us

Canadians for a Modern Industrial Strategy (CMIS) brings together people from labour, business, and the community who believe our economic success and social well-being depend on adopting a proactive industrial strategy.

CMIS is a partner organization of the Canadian Labour Institute for Social and Economic Fairness (CLI). Both CMIS and CLI gratefully acknowledges the support of NUPGE Canada.